PSL 7: Islamabad United eye for winning start against in-form Peshawar Zalmi today

Islamabad United will kick off their Pakistan Super League (PSL) campaign by taking on the in-form Peshawar Zalmi at the National Cricket Stadium Karachi.

The match starts at 02:30 PM (PST).

Two-time champion Islamabad United will take the field confident as they have a mixture of experienced and young players in their squad. United skipper Shadab Khan's leadership will play a key role in United's performance against Zalmi.

Zalmi, the runners-up of the sixth edition of the PSL, have made a winning start to their PSL campaign by winning their opening match against Quetta Gladiators by five wickets on Friday. Zalmi were without their skipper Wahab Riaz and experienced batter Kamran Akmal, but they still won. With their arrival after recovering from COVID-19, Zalmi will be brimming with confidence when they take the field against United.

Head-to-head:

The two teams have come face to face on 16 occasions, out of which Peshawar Zalmi have a slight edge over United as the Yellow Storm have won eight matches while United have won seven.

In the sixth edition of the PSL, Zalmi and United played three matches against each other, with Zalmi winning two and United managing to win only one.

Today's match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United will be an entertaining one as both teams will have their Playing XI players.

Key Players:

Pakistan cricket team's hero Asif Ali will be key to Islamabad United's success this season. Asif's exceptional power-hitting and finishing abilities will help Islamabad United achieve greater heights.

We all saw glimpses of Mohammad Waseem Jr's spectacular seam and wicket-taking abilities during the series against Bangladesh and West Indies. Wasim Jr will be a treat to watch during the PSL 2022 and help United clinch its third trophy.

Kamran Akmal, who recovered from COVID-19 and joined the practice session yesterday, is Peshawar Zalmi's top scorer. Hopefully, in the seventh edition, Kamran brings his spark and helps Zalmi win its second match against United.

Zalmi skipper Wahab Riaz, who also missed the opener against Quetta Gladiators, will return to the squad against United. Zalmi missed the experience and quality in the bowling attack against QG, but with the left-arm pacer's return, the 2017 champions have ticked all the boxes.

Possible Playing XI:

Islamabad United:

Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Marchant De Lange

Peshawar Zalmi:

Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Kamran Akmal, Haider Ali, Hussain Talat, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Usman Qadir, Ben Cutting, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Pat Brown